Bolt tightening apparatus



, Feb. 24, 19, M. a. KILLMER BOLT TIGHTEN ING APPARATU S ZSheets-Shet 1 Filed Aug. 27, 1946 INVENTOR. m

Patented Feb. 24, 1948 BOLT TIGHTENING APPARATUS Miles I. Killmer, New York, N. Y., assignor to Mason & Hanger Co., Inc,, New York, N. Y., a corporation of West Virginia Application August 2'1, 1946, Serial No. 693,232

v 3 Claims.

1 The present invention relates to power driven bolt tightening apparatus particularly adapted for tightening very heavy tunnel-liner bolts, and requlringease of manipulation and great durability. A characteristic of the invention is the provision between the wrench socket carried by the device.

and the power means of a flexible connection by which a constant torque may be imposed upon the wrench socket member. Such connection means consists of 'rotary drive elements and a plurality of chains which in practice will have constant progressive movement until the bolt has been tightened even to the point where the power means is stalled. v

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a view in elevation, partly in dotted lines showing an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken generally on the line 2-2, Fig. 1, but showing the power means in full lines;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3,Fig. 1; I

Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 3;

Fig-J5 is an enlarged detailed view showing the wrench socket end of the device at the side opposite the socket, certain parts being shown in dotted lines; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section showing the drive shaft, its bearing supports and the drive gear.

Referring to the drawings, 1 have shown at I the central or key connecting member for the power means and the forward end of the apparatus. Member I is a heavy sleeve having its mounting in an annular supporting carrier 2 pivoted at opposed points upon the standards 3. The carrier 2 may be provided with an inner ring or facing 2:1: formed with an annular rib 4 which entersian' encircling channel formed in sleeve I,

so the. sleeve I may be rotated relatively to the carrier as well as giving pivotal movements therewitli on thestand-ards 3.

Securedto the carrier 2 is a bracket 5 having a bent extension apertured to receive a latch pin 6, the latter carrying a collar 1 engaged by a spring 8, the upper end of the latter abutting the bent end of the bracket 5. Thus, the latch pin is pressed downwardly and its lower end is adapted to enter anyone of a plurality of recesses formed annularly in the surface of sleeve I to-hold the latter in position relatively to the carrier when it has been rotationally adjusted.

The power end of the apparatus consists of a suitable casing, generally indicated at I and held on sleeve I in fixed position in any suitable manner. The casing is preferably provided with removable covers 8 for access to a driving gear 9 and a driven gear ID. Driving gear 9 is preferably of beveled type and is mounted on a, shaft It! held in bearing members II supported by brackets I2.

My preferred power device consists of an air motor connected to shaft III by suitable reduction gearing. The specificform of such power means and reduction gearing is not claimed herein and the elements may be of widely varying types as to specific construction. For this reason, the air motor is only diagrammatically shown at I2 and the'reduction gearing is indicated at I3, the drawings showing casings only for the respec-- tive elements. In the embodiment illustrated the motor and reduction gearing cases are bolted to heavy rearwardly projecting plate extensions Ia: carried by the casing I. V 1

The driven gear I0 is a bevel gear carried by a shaft I4 which also carries a. plurality of sprockets l5.

The forward portion of the apparatus consists of an elongated housing generally indicated at I5 and rigidly carried by. connecting sleeve I. In the present embodiment there are three sprockets I5 on shaft I4, and these sprockets carrythree endless chains extending within the housing I6 and led over three sprockets I'I within the forward end of the housing. These sprockets are mounted on :a shaft I8 carrying at its end a releasable head I9 (Fig. 1) to which is swivelled a wrench socket 20.

Within the housing I6 are adjustably positioned a plurality of idler sprockets I9 on shafts 20. These shafts are led through slots in the housing. The simplest form of adjustment holding means for the shafts 2I'I will consist of nuts 201: on the ends of the shafts so that when the shafts are adjusted in slots 22 (Fi 2) the nuts may be tightened down onto the housing I6 to hold the idlersprockets in adjusted position, and in order that undue slack in the chains Ilia; may be taken up.

For manual rotation of the apparatus relatively to its carrier 2 a series of handles 23 may be carried thereby. It will also be understood that the carrier 2 and the rib-ring 2a: may be split members, as indicated in Fig. 3. It is also preferred that the chains run between guide plates 24 carried within sleeve I. These plates are shown with bent ends in Figs. 2 and 3 so that the chains may readily ride over them.

The guide plates 24 may be arranged at the top end of the chain leads within the sleeve I, as shown in Figures 2 and 3 or may be disposed at the side of the outermost chains, or in both positions. In Fig. 4 the guide plates are arranged so as to lie at the sides of the chains, one only being shown inasmuch as this is a cross-sectional view. Guide plates'also may be-disposed between the chains, if desired.

In the use of the apparatus for the tightening of tunnel liner bolts, it will usually be mounted on a large ring carrier equipped with means for moving the apparatus about the various liner plates, which are usually circumferentially placed. Inasmuch as such carrier means-formsno1-part at least one"'spro'cket on said shaft, an aperture being formed insaid forwardly projecting casing, said aperture being in registration with an end of the shaft for access thereto, a, shaft in the rearwardly-projected casing, a sprocket on said shaft, 'a' chain connection between the sprockets of the present invention it has not been-illustrated.

In the use of the apparatus a, wrench socket I 20 of the size appropriate to the bolts to be acted upon is connected to shaft 18 at the forward end of-the -apparatus end-the latter is adjusted by swinging :and rotation to bring the wrench socket intojengagement with the bolt and in register with the bolt aperture of the liner'platc. The power means is then thrown into operation andigear .14 'will be rotated to impart progressive rotation to the wrench socket through the intermediary of the gears and the chains.

It will be understood thatvarious modifications may be made in the form and arrangement of the elements illustrated in the drawings without departing'from the spirit of the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent beingas follows:

.1..A bolt tightening apparatus consisting of an elongated forwardly projected casing and a rearwardly projecting casing, an intermediate sleeve-like member connecting the casings, a carrierhaving a loosely embracing-surface for the sleeve topermit rotation ofthe latter, a pivotal support for the carrier, a. shaft carried by the end of the forwardly projecting casing, at least one sprocket on said shaft, an aperture being formed in said forwardly projecting casing, said aperture'beinginregistration with an end of the shaft for'access thereto, ashaft carried by the rearwardly'projectingicasing, at least one sprocket carried .by said shaft, a chain'leading therefrom tothe firstnamed sprocket and extending through the forwardly projected casing, and a power drive forsaidlastnamed shaft.

and running longitudinally of the forwardly pro- =jecte'd casing,and power means carried by the -"rearwardly projected casing for driving the sprocket therein.

3. A bolt tightening apparatus consisting of an elongated forwardly projected casing and a. rearwardly projecting casing, an intermediate sleevelike member connecting the casings, the sleeve being formedwith a circular keyway, a split annular carrier having a key in said keyway, a pivotal support for said carrier, latching means supported by the carrier and adapted to latch the sleeve in rotationally adjusted position, a forwardly projectedsupport carried by said sleeve, a rearwardly projectedsupport carried by the sleeve, a sprocket device and a shaftconnected thereto at the end of the forwardly-projected support, sprocket means carried by therearwardly projected support, a chain. drive carried-by said sprocket means, andpower means for rotating said sprockets including gearing carried by the rearwardly projected support, the forwardly projected support being formed with an aperture in registration with the end of the shaft through which aperture the shaft projects.

MILES I. KILLMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 717,528 Bartlett Jan. 6, 1903 1,978,513 Talboys Oct. 30, 1934 2,009,409 Parker July 30, 1935 

